View full sizeBran Siegal is Retail Specialists Inc.'s new chief investment officer and general counsel. (Special)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- There's a new face at Retail Specialists Inc., as the Birmingham-based commercial real estate firm continues to grow its new business of providing retail consulting and recruitment services to local governments.

Brad Siegal has joined the firm as chief investment officer and general counsel.

It's a new position formed specifically for Siegal, who has been practicing law for more than 22 years and counted Retail Specialists among his clients.

"As our property and asset management group and responsibilities have grown, there's a lot of legal work that goes along with that," said Robert Jolly, president of Retail Specialists.

Siegal also will play a role in the firm's municipal consulting business, potentially working on development agreements and other matters, Jolly said.

Retail Specialists has partnered with research firm Decision Data Resources in a joint venture called Retail Strategies. The companies help counties and cities identify retail holes in their communities and fill them.

Smaller shopping centers are becoming the primary growth model in retail commercial real estate, Siegal said, as malls and other large venues just aren't being developed like they once were.

At the same time, a number of commercial real estate firms, particularly larger ones, are getting out of the retail business, in favor of multi-family and office projects.

Retail Specialists is becoming a one-stop shop for communities that don't get a lot of looks from major retailers, for help with drawing those eyes and ultimately landing new development, Siegal said.

"Not only are we going to manage a business that a lot of people are getting out of, we're also going to these smaller cities that don't have a lot of interest and saying, 'What can we do to help you?'" he said.

Siegal is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt University Law School. He serves as president of the Levite Jewish Community Center.

Pizitz update

In a recent interview about Birmingham-based Pizitz Management Group LLC's expanding frozen yogurt chain, 32 degrees, President Jeff Pizitz also talked about growth in the company's other holdings.

The company is a franchisee of Great American Cookie Co., with 38 locations across the Southeast, and business has been very strong for the last six to nine months, Pizitz said.

"We expect a double-digit increase in almost all of our locations," he said.

The footprint is also expanding, with new store openings in North Carolina.

The cookie stores excel in enclosed malls, but those types of developments are scarce these days.

So Pizitz Management Group is looking to grow the business through acquisitions. The company is in talks with three Great American Cookie Co. store operators -- who have a combined eight to 10 stores in the Southeast -- about possible purchases.

Meanwhile, Gus Mayer, the company's upscale department store that exited its longtime home at Colonial Brookwood Village last year for a new space at The Summit shopping center, is doing well, Pizitz said.

"We celebrated our first anniversary (at The Summit) in March. Sales have been great, and we're thrilled to be at The Summit. We're seeing a lot of new faces that we didn't see at Brookwood," he said.

The store has also made some changes in its product mix, Pizitz said.

While it is still carrying the designer brands it is known for, there has been a concentrated effort to offer more contemporary, moderately-priced labels.